New "recovery crediting system" could undermine federal actions to safeguard imperiled species

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, the Department of the Interior
announced new guidance intended to give federal agencies “greater flexibility”
in addressing the impacts of their actions on threatened and endangered species
living on federal lands. The rule would allow federal agencies to conduct
activities that damage or destroy wildlife habitat on federal lands – lands
which are essentially the only home for nearly a quarter of the nation’s
imperiled species – and compensate for those activities by performing
conservation actions on private land.

The following is a
statement by Defenders of Wildlife executive vice president Jamie Rappaport
Clark, former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the
Clinton administration:

“We welcome the increased
focus by federal agencies on recovery of threatened and endangered species. But
the guidance issued today is so vague, and so lacking in specific direction and
safeguards, that it may actually allow or encourage federal agencies to duck
their conservation responsibilities by shifting the burden of safeguarding these
species to private landowners.

“Under the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws,
federal agencies managing federal lands have a special obligation to conserve
viable populations of plants and animals, including threatened and endangered
species. This requirement does not apply to private lands, of course, making
federal lands key to the conservation of threatened and endangered species. The
new ‘recovery crediting system’ guidance must not be allowed to undermine this
duty. Instead, it should encourage federal land conservation efforts in addition
to conservation efforts on private and state lands.”

Defenders
of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in
their natural communities. With
more than 1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a
leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for
generations to come. For more
information, visit www.defenders.org.

Cactus ferruginous pygmy-owls are one of three subspecies of the ferruginous pygmy-owl. They have longer tails than most owls, are reddish-brown with a cream colored belly and have a crown that is lightly streaked.